Arsène Lupin
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Arsène Lupin is the name of a fictional gentleman thief who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television, stage play and comic book adaptations.
Overview
Easily the equal of Arthur Conan Doyle in fame, Maurice Leblanc (1864-1941) was the creator of the character of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin who, in France, has enjoyed a popularity as long-lasting and considerable as Sherlock Holmes in the English-speaking world.
There are twenty volumes in the Arsène Lupin series written by Leblanc himself, plus five authorized sequels written by the notorious mystery writing team of Boileau-Narcejac, as well as various pastiches.
The character of Lupin was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine Je Sais Tout, starting in No. 6, dated 15 July 1905.
Arsène Lupin is a literary descendent of Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail's Rocambole. Like him, he is clearly a force for good, while operating on the wrongside of the law. Those who Lupin defeats, always with his characteristic gallic style and panache, are worse villains than he. Lupin is somewhat similar to A.J. Raffles and anticipates characters such as The Saint.
The character of Arsène Lupin might have been based by Leblanc on French anarchist Marius Jacob, whose trial made headlines in March 1905; it is also possible that Leblanc had read Octave Mirbeau's Les Vingt-et-Un Jours d'un Neurasthénique (19101) which features a gentleman thief named Arthur Lebeau.
Bibliography
- 1. [Arsène Lupin, gentleman cambrioleur] (1907) (coll. 9 stories) (online. [link])
- 2. [Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès] (1908) (coll. 2 stories) (American edition ISBN 1932983147)
- 3. [L'Aiguille creuse] (1909) (American edition ISBN 0974071196)
- 4. [813] (1910)
- 5. [Le Bouchon de cristal] (1912)
- 6. [Les Confidences d'Arsène Lupin] (1913) (coll. 9 stories)
- 7. [L'Éclat d'obus] (1916) (mostly appears in a cameo added retroactively).
- 8. [Le Triangle d'or] (1918)
- 9. [L’Île aux trente cercueils] (1919)
- 10. [Les Dents du tigre] (1921) (earlier English edition in 1914)
- 11. [Les Huit Coups de l'horloge] (1923) (coll. 8 stories)
- 12. [La Comtesse de Cagliostro] (1924)
- 13. La Demoiselle aux Yeux Verts (1927)
- 14. L'Agence Barnett et Cie. (1928)
- 15. La Demeure Mystérieuse (1929)
- 16. La Barre-y-va (1931)
- 17. La Femme aux Deux Sourires (1933)
- 18. Victor de la Brigade Mondaine (1933)
- 19. La Cagliostro se venge (1935)
- 20. Les Milliards d'Arsène Lupin (1939)
- 21. Le Dernier Amour d'Arsène Lupin (reportedly unpublished ms.)
- Dorothée, Danseuse de Corde (1923) is not an Arsène Lupin novel, but its eponymous heroine solves one of Lupin's four fabulous secrets.
By Other Writers
- by Boileau-Narcejac:
- * 1. Le Secret d’Eunerville (1973)
- * 2. La Poudrière (1974)
- * 3. Le Second Visage d’Arsène Lupin (1975)
- * 4. La Justice d’Arsène Lupin (1977)
- * 5. Le Serment d’Arsène Lupin (1979)
Notable Pastiches
- The Adventure of the Clothes-Line by Carolyn Wells in The Century (1915)
- The Silver Hair Crime by Nick Carter in New Magnet Library No. 1282 (1930)
- Aristide Dupin who appears in Union Jack Nos. 1481, 1483, 1489, 1493 and 1498 (1932)in the Sexton Blake collection by Gwyn Evans
- La Clé est sous le Paillasson by Marcel Aymé (1934)
- Gaspard Zemba who appears in The Shadow Magazine (December 1, 1935) by Walter Gibson
- Arsène Lupin vs. Colonel Linnaus by Anthony Boucher in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Vo. 5, No. 19 (1944)
- L’Affaire Oliveira by Thomas Narcejac in Confidences dans ma Nuit (1946)
- Le Gentleman en Noir by Claude Ferny (c. 1950) (two novels)
- International Investigators, Inc. by Edward G. Ashton in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (1952)
- Le Secret des Rois de France ou La Véritable identité d’Arsène Lupin by Valère Catogan (1955)
- In Compartment 813 by Arthur Porges in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (June 1966)
- Arsène Lupin, Gentleman de la Nuit by Jean-Claude Lamy (1983)
- Auguste Lupa in Son of Holmes (1986) and Rasputin’s Revenge (1987) by John Lescroart
- Various stories in Tales of the Shadowmen, Vol. 1, The Modern Babylon, ed. by Jean-Marc Lofficier (2005) (ISBN 1932983268)
- Various stories in Tales of the Shadowmen, Vol. 2, Gentlemen of the Night, ed. by Jean-Marc Lofficier (2006) (ISBN 1932983600)
- Arsène Lupin is also referred to as the grandfather of Lupin III in the Japanese manga and anime series of the same name.
- Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes have been the basis for a popular Japanese manga series, Detective Conan. Lupin resembles Kaito Kid, while Sherlock Holmes represents Conan Edogowa.
- A funny animal pastiche of Arsène Lupin is Arpine Lusène, of the Scrooge McDuck Universe.
Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes
Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes were bound to meet and, in an unprecedented act of literary pastiche and cross-over, Leblanc introduced Holmes in the short story Sherlock Holmes arrive trop tard in Je Sais Tout No. 17, 15 June 1906. In it, Holmes meets a young Lupin for a brief time, unaware that he is, in fact, Lupin. After legal objections from Conan Doyle, the name was changed to "Herlock Sholmes" when the story was collected in bookform in Volume 1.
Holmes returned in two more stories collected in Volume 2, Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes, and then in a guest-starring role in the prodigious battle for the secret of the Hollow Needle in L'Aiguille Creuse, where he accidentally shoots Lupin's fiancée.
He is mentioned once in 813.
Fantasy Elements
Several Arsène Lupin novels contain some interesting fantasy elements: a radioactive 'god-stone' that cures people and causes mutations is the object of an epic battle in L’Île aux Trente Cercueils; the secret of the Fountain of Youth, a mineral water source hidden beneath a lake in the Auvergne, is the goal sought by the protagonists in La Demoiselle aux Yeux Verts; finally, in La Comtesse de Cagliostro, Lupin’s arch-enemy is none other than Josephine Balsamo, the granddaughter of Cagliostro himself.
Films
- The Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1908) with William Ranows (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1914) with Georges Tréville (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin (B&W., UK, 1915) with Gerald Ames (Lupin).
- The Gentleman Burglar (B&W., US, 1915) with William Stowell (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1917) with Earle Williams (Lupin).
- The Teeth of the Tiger (B&W., US, 1919) with David Powell (Lupin).
- 813 (B&W., US, 1920) with Wedgewood Newel (Lupin).
- Les Dernières Aventures d'Arsène Lupin (B&W., France/Hungary, 1921).
- 813 - Rupimono (B&W., Japan, 1923) with Minami Mitsuaki (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1932) with John Barrymore (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin Returns (B&W., US, 1936) with Melvyn Douglas (Lupin)
- Arsène Lupin, Détective (B&W., 1937) with Jules Berry (Lupin).
- Enter Arsène Lupin (B&W., US, 1944) with Charles Korvin (Lupin).
- Arsenio Lupin (B&W., Mexico, 1945) with R. Pereda (Lupin).
- Nanatsu-no Houseki (B&W., Japan, 1950) with Keiji Sada (Lupin).
- Tora no-Kiba (B&W., Japan, 1951) with Ken Uehara (Lupin).
- Kao-no Nai Otoko (B&W., Japan, 1955) with Eiji Okada (Lupin).
- Les Aventures d'Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1956) with Robert Lamoureux (Lupin).
- Signé Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1959) with Robert Lamoureux (Lupin).
- Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (B&W., 1962) with Jean-Pierre Cassel and Jean-Claude Brialy (Lupins).
- Arsène Lupin (col., 2004) with Romain Duris (Lupin).
Television
- Arsène Lupin, 26 60 min. episodes (1971, 1973-74) with George Descrières (Lupin).
- L'Île aux Trente Cercueils, 6 60 min. episodes (1979) (the character of Lupin, who only appears at the end of the novel, was removed entirely).
- Arsène Lupin Joue et Perd, six 52 min. episodes (1980)loosely based on 813 with Jean-Claude Brialy (Lupin).
- Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin, 12 90-min episodes (1989-90) and Les Nouveaux Exploits d'Arsène Lupin, 8 90-min episodes (1995-96) with François Dunoyer (Lupin).
Stage
- Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. 4-Acts play first performed on October 28, 1908, at the Athenee in Paris.
- Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes by Victor Darlay & Henri de Gorsse. 4-Acts play first performed on October 10, 1910, at the Theâtre du Châtelet in Paris. (American edition ISBN 1932983163)
- Le Retour d'Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc. 1-Act Play first performed on September 16, 1911, at the Theâtre de la Cigale in Paris.
- Arsène Lupin, Banquier by Yves Mirande & Albert Willemetz, libretto by Marcel Lattès. 3-Acts operetta, first performed on May 7, 1930, at the Theâtre des Bouffes Parisiennes in Paris.
Animation
- Les Exploits d'Arsène Lupin aka Night Hood, produced by Cinar & France-Animation, 26 26 min. episodes (1996)
Comics
- Arsène Lupin, written by Georges Cheylard, art by Bourdin. Daily strip published in France-Soir in 1948-49.
- Arsène Lupin, written & drawn by Jacques Blondeau. 575 daily strips published in Le Parisien Libéré from 1956-58.
- Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmes: La Dame Blonde, written by Joëlle Gilles, art by Gilles & B. Cado, published by the authors, 1983.
- Arsène Lupin, written by André-Paul Duchateau, artist Géron, published by C. Lefrancq.
- * 1. Le Bouchon de Cristal (1989)
- * 2. 813 - La Double Vie d'Arsène Lupin (1990)
- * 3. 813 - Les Trois Crimes d'Arsène Lupin (1991)
- * 4. La Demoiselle aux Yeux Verts (1992)
- * 5. L'Aiguille Creuse (1994)
External links
- [Arsène Lupin]
- [American publisher of translations of Arsène Lupin]
- [The Secrets of Lupin family -- from the First to the Third] (multilingual version)
- [Free Arsène Lupin eBooks by Project Gutenberg]
- [Arsène Lupin Timeline by A.-F. Ruaud] (English version)
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